Book Review: Modern Romance

I enjoyed Aziz Ansari in Parks and Recreation but I really fell in love with Aziz as an actor and a comedic genius when I watched his Netflix show, Master of None. It was within days of finishing the first season of Master of None that I broke down and purchased his novel Modern Romance. I didn't even read the description of the book before buying. 

Modern Romance is a study on love in the modern age. Aziz teams up with a Sociologist and looks at not only how people are falling in love but how relationships differ throughout the world. It was not at all what I was expecting and yet I really enjoyed it. Aziz brought in not only his comedic tones but took a real educated look at the subject. He did case studies, interviewed individuals, and researched the topic. It's actually a lot more detailed then I think most would expect from a comedian.

The deeper Modern Romance gets the more I was left wanting more. He spends time going to different countries where he interviews people about their different stances on all sorts of topics and yet Aziz spends as much time talking about food as he does the topic at hand. That's not necessarily a bad thing because I love Ramen as much as he does but the topic is so interesting that I just was left wanting more. In particular he spends some time in Tokyo where the youth isn't getting into relationships at all and a book just on that topic would be fascinating.

At the end of the day Modern Romance is part comedy novel part study on modern romance. It's a fun novel that I absolutely enjoyed but it's not great at either area to make this a compelling novel. I love Aziz, and enjoyed this novel, but I think it had the potential to be so much more.